Repeated-Sprint Training in Hypoxia in International Rugby Union Players

Adam Beard (1) , John Ashby (2) , Ryan Chambers (2) , Franck Brocherie (3) , Grégoire P Millet (1)

1 ISSUL - Institute of Sport Sciences of University of Lausanne
2 Welsh Rugby Union, National Centre of Excellence
3 SEP (EA7370) - French Institute of Sport (INSEP), Laboratory Sport, Expertise and Performance (EA7370)

Purpose: To investigate the effects of repeated-sprint training in hypoxia vs in normoxia on world-level male rugby union players’ repeated-sprint ability (RSA) during an international competition period. Methods: A total of 19 players belonging to an international rugby union senior male national team performed 4 sessions of cycling repeated sprints (consisting of 3×eight 10-s sprints with 20 s passive recovery) either in normobaric hypoxia (RSH, 3000 m; n=10) or in normoxia (RSN, 300 m; n=9) over a 2-wk period. Before and after the training intervention, RSA was evaluated using a cycling repeated-sprint test (6×10-s maximal sprint and 20-s passive recovery) performed in normoxia. Results: Significant interaction effects (all P<.05, η2 p > .37) between condition and time were found for RSA-related parameters. Compared with Pre, maximal power significantly improved at Post in RSH (12.84 [0.83] vs 13.63 [1.03] W·kg−1, P<.01, η2 p = .15) but not in RSN (13.17 [0.89] vs 13.00 [1.01] W·kg−1, P=.45, η2 p = .01). Mean power was also significantly enhanced from Pre to Post in RSH (11.15 [0.58] vs 11.86 [0.63] W·kg−1, P<.001, η2 p = .26), whereas it remained unchanged in RSN (11.54 [0.61] vs 11.75 [0.65] W·kg−1, P=.23, η2 p = .03). Conclusion: As few as 4 dedicated specific RSH sessions were beneficial to enhance repeated power production in world-level rugby union players. Although the improvement from RSA to game behavior remains unclear, this finding appears to be of practical relevance as only a short preparation window is available prior to international rugby union games.

Mots clés: repeated-sprint ability; team sports; competition; lower limbs; altitude training

Domaines: Disciplines sportives; Physiologie du sport

Adam Beard, John Ashby, Ryan Chambers, Franck Brocherie, Grégoire P Millet. Repeated-Sprint Training in Hypoxia in International Rugby Union Players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2019, 14 (6), pp.850-854. ⟨10.1123/ijspp.2018-0170⟩. ⟨hal-02544229⟩